Olympic swimmer’s top tips to Sheffield youngsters

Aspiring swimmers in Sheffield got the chance to test the waters with the help of a British Olympic athlete.

Grant Turner, who competed in the London 2012 Olympic Games, gave youngsters a taster session on the sport at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.

The swimmer led 50-minute sessions for families with youngsters aged eight years old or over, giving the public a chance to improve their fitness and stroke technique.

The Have A Go sessions were organised in the run-up to the SwimBritain challenge, which will be held at Ponds Forge on September 6.

It will see teams of four compete in a one kilometre or 500 metre relay designed to get families and youngsters into swimming.

The organisation is looking to get 500,000 people across the country to swim more regularly and the challenge is open to anyone.

A spokesman for SwimBritain said: “The event was a great success with 50 people turning up to train with Grant. Grant gave attendees a terrific insight into the life of an athlete as well as offering valuable tips on how to keep fit and improve swimming strokes. With the SwimBritain events fast approaching, this was a perfect opportunity for people to get excited and get involved.

“Because of the health benefits of the sport, getting more people involved in swimming is hugely important. It has been proven to improve fitness and well-being, increase happiness and lower stress. We believe the British Gas SwimBritain initiative is the another way to make swimming fun for families and friends as well as get more people involved.”